Conquest of the Heart (40 page)

“Oh, okay,” said Gavin, again disappointed.
“I should let you go then. I’ll call and check on you later.”

Faith heard it in his voice. “Are you
alright?”

“I just miss you, Faith. Have a good
day.”

“You too.” She wanted to tell him she loved
him, but couldn’t.

The call ended. The week would prove to be a
long and hard one for both of them.

Faith spent her Saturday morning cleaning,
then took advantage of her time alone to read a book. She checked
on Emile to make sure he was doing alright. He was sleeping. She
gently touched his cheek, kissed his head, then went to grab her
book. It was a little chilly, so she snuggled underneath a thick,
soft throw, situated herself comfortably on the couch, and started
on the first page of the book. After reading the first paragraph
four times, she sat the book down in frustration. She huffed,
propped her head on her hand and stared off into space. After
sitting there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, she
heard Emile moving around so she went and checked on him.

Emile Rousseau was a tall, handsome man with
short wavy dark brown hair, and crystal blue eyes. He was
independently wealthy, and had relational ties to French nobility.
Before he got sick, he had an athletically built body and naturally
tan skin. Now, his skin was pale, his body thin and weak.

“What are you doing here?” he groggily asked.
“You’ve been cooped up in this house all week.”

“I was trying to read a book, but couldn’t
get into it,” she frowned.

Emile heard the edginess in her voice. “Are
you okay?”

“Fine,” she snapped.

Looking at her suspiciously, he asked, “Have
you seen Gavin this week?”

“Not since Monday. Why?”

Emile nodded and sat up in bed. Faith was
standing by the window, staring out. She was playing with her
necklace. Seeing her this way made him think about the conversation
he had with Mara. He knew what he had to do. “You need to go see
him. Today. You’re cranky.”

“I am not cranky. I need to be here with
you,” she snapped again.

“Don’t get snippy with me. I know when you’re
cranky. I can hear it in your voice, and you’re fidgety,” he said,
watching her agitation grow. It irritated her more that he was
right.

“I am not fidgety. Are you hungry?”

“No. You need to go see Gavin.”

“No.”

“Don’t make me get up out of this bed. I can
do it, woman.”

“This I gotta see.” Faith sat down in a
chair, challenging him, even daring him, to get out of bed.

“Did you just challenge me? I’ve done a lot
of things on my own lately. Trust me, if I get out of this bed,
you’re in trouble.”

“I’m waiting,” she said sarcastically.

“Woman, if you don’t get your stubborn ass
out of this house and over to Gavin’s, I will get out of this bed
and take you myself. I don’t feel like dealing with your attitude
for two days because you miss him.”

Faith stared at him angrily. She didn’t move,
but Emile did. He slowly moved his legs around the side of the bed
and was getting ready to stand. Faith’s eyes got big, surprised and
shocked at what she was seeing.

“Alright,” she said firmly. “Alright. I’ll
go. I won’t stay gone long.”

Emile sat back down, relieved. That had taken
a lot energy out of him. Faith helped him back into bed. He gazed
into her eyes, smiling victoriously.

“Why did you do that?” she asked shaking her
head.

“You need each other, Faith. He’s probably
just as miserable as you are. I’ll be fine.” He took a deep breath.
“Phew! That little stunt took a lot out of me.”

“You’re the stubborn one. Can I make you some
soup?”

“That’ll be fine. As soon as you’ve done
that, I want you to go see Gavin.”

“Okay.”

Faith went to the kitchen and warmed up some
soup for Emile. She placed it in a bowl on a tray with some water.
As she carried the tray to the room, she was still shocked by what
Emile had tried to do.

Emile was watching television when she
entered. She gently sat the tray across his legs.

“Here you go. It’s still a little hot. Are
you doing okay?”

“I’m fine. My body has calmed down. Now go. I
don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”

Faith cupped his face, “Why do you push me
out so much?”

“Because you need it. I will not watch you
wither away like you did the last time I was sick. Get out of
here,” he said, shooing her with his hands.

She kissed him gently on his lips and said,
“I’ll see you later.”

About forty minutes later, Faith arrived at
Gavin’s house. She didn’t even know if he was home, but it didn’t
matter. Just being in his house would help her feel as if she was
near him. She pulled her key out to unlock the door, but it was
already unlocked. When she walked in, Gavin met her in the
hallway.

He grabbed her and kissed her deeply on the
lips. “I heard your car pull up. I’ve missed you so much. I hate
being unable to see you.” He kissed her again as Faith dropped her
keys.

“I missed you, too. Emile kicked me out
because I was irritated from being away from you too long.” She
pulled away from his arms long enough to remove her shoes and pick
up her keys.

They walked into the living room. The warmth
from the fireplace felt good on Faith’s skin. Now November, the
weather was getting quite cold.

“Have you had dinner? I can make grilled
cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.”

“That sounds wonderful. How long will the
soup take?”

“I already have some made. I’ll just need to
warm it up.” Gavin opened the refrigerator and pulled out the
ingredients he needed to prepare their meal.

“You said Emile kicked you out?” asked Gavin
as he picked out a skillet to cook in.

“Yes,” said Faith, now resting comfortably on
the couch. She was looking toward him as she sat with her legs
crossed Indian-style. “I snapped at him. He knew exactly why. He
asked me when the last time was that I saw you. Then he threatened
to bring me himself if I didn’t leave.”

“Sounds like he’s kept his sense of
humor.”

“Ornery is more like it,” she said, rolling
her eyes.

“How’s he doing?” Gavin was grilling the
first sandwich, while the soup was simmering.

“He’s doing okay. He’s getting weaker,
sleeping more.” She paused, sighed deeply and wiped a few tears
away from her eyes. Gavin saw her, but didn’t say anything. “How
was your week?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Miserable. Productive, but miserable. It’s
not the same when you’re not there.”

“Any news on which city we’re going to expand
to?”

“Nothing yet. We’ll have an employee meeting
to make the announcement.”

“Adrian hasn’t given you any hints?”

“Nope. He knows I’ll tell you,” he
winked.

“That stinks,” she pouted.

Gavin placed their sandwiches and soup on a
tray, along with homemade hot chocolate, and carried it into the
living room. He opted to clean up later, wanting to spend every
second he had with her.

“Here you are, beautiful. Gavin’s specialty.
Just for you.”

“You’re so good to me,” she smiled, gently
kissing his cheek.

Faith took a bite of her sandwich, closing
her eyes as she enjoyed the flavor. Then she tasted the soup, which
was even better.

“This soup is delicious. When did you make
it?”

“Earlier in the week. I was hoping that you
would’ve come over, so in my anticipation, made the soup to go with
the sandwiches.”

“You have to show me how to make this next.
This is awesome. I’m going to have to get new clothes if you keep
cooking like this.”

“Ahh, you won’t. You’ll spend a week eating
salad and drinking water to offset this.”

“Whatever,” she giggled.

They finished their dinner, then laid on some
pillows in front of the fireplace. Resting on his side, Gavin
reached over and moved hair from Faith’s face, and kissed her
sensuously on the lips. Faith slowly wrapped her arms around his
neck, allowing one arm to fall and caress his face. Gavin moved
down a little bit, kissing and licking her neck. He slipped his
hand underneath her sweater, rubbing her stomach and her side. She
reached underneath his shirt as well, softly stroking his skin.

“I missed your touch so much.” He gazed into
her eyes, and Faith knew exactly where he was going next.

She shook her head, “Can you just hold me?
It’s been such a long week without you. I just want to be in your
arms.”

“Sure,” Gavin said, kissing her softly. He
didn’t press.

They talked, laughed, and loved on each other
for the next few hours. Faith returned home, satisfied from
spending time with Gavin. She checked on Emile, who was in a deep
slumber. The tray she had left was sitting to the side of him.
Quietly, she tiptoed into the room, turned off the television, and
took away the tray. Most of the soup had been eaten, and all of the
water was gone. She went to the kitchen, rinsed the dishes and
placed them in the dishwasher, and stored the tray in the pantry.
As she stood alone at the island, she glanced in the dining room
where the roses that Gavin sent were sitting, smiling as she
thought about how wonderful it had been to rest in his arms. Since
it was getting late, she turned off all of the lights, and retired
for the evening.

On Monday morning, Adrian and Gavin wasted no
time addressing Chandlers’ behavior. Adrian asked Agnes to call
Chandler and have her come in for a private meeting.

She knocked softly on Adrian’s door when she
arrived.

“Come,” said Adrian. He was sitting at his
desk, with Gavin sitting on the opposite side. They stood as she
walked in.

“You wanted to see me?” said Chandler.

“Yes, Chandler. Please sit down,” said
Adrian, motioning to an empty chair. Gavin said nothing.

Chandler walked to the chair and sat down as
instructed. She was actually decently dressed on this occasion.

Adrian said, “We don’t want to keep you long,
but we have to address the situation that occurred last week
between you and Faith. You found out some very private information
about her for your own selfish reasons. How you found out is
irrelevant. The fact is you crossed the line. Normally I would
suggest you apologize, but you’ve done enough damage. Instead, you
are to go nowhere near Faith. You will not try to speak to her or
bother her in any way, do you understand?”

Chandler nodded. She tried to look at Gavin,
but he didn’t once look her way, nor did he speak.

“If you cause anymore problems for her, your
consequences will be greater,” he continued. “You’re a remarkable
employee, but your people skills could use improvement, and that’s
putting it nicely. I suggest you work on them if you want to remain
here.”

“Yes, sir.” Chandler wanted to hear from
Gavin, but he remained quiet. “Is there anything else?”

“No,” said Adrian. “You’re free to go. Have a
good day.”

Chandler glanced at Gavin once more,
disappointed that he hadn’t said a single word while she was there.
She stood, said thank you, then left.

Adrian looked at Gavin and said, “You didn’t
have anything to say?”

“No. She’s done too much to come between me
and Faith. I didn’t even want to be here for this, but knew I had
to be. It was one thing to deal with Carter. Now I’m dealing with
Chandler, too.”

“Speaking of Carter, have you talked to
him?”

“I haven’t. He’s not allowed to speak with
anyone at this point in his rehabilitation. I did get an update on
his status. His doctor says he’s doing well. He’s communicating
well, and participating in his group sessions. I still can’t
believe Faith convinced us to keep him here. We really should have
fired him. I think he’s a liability.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. For whatever
reason, Faith thinks he can change. I’m sure he knows he’s on thin
ice if and when he returns. If his behavior shows no positive
signs, we’ll let him go.”

Gavin shook his head. “I’m just not
comfortable knowing what he’s done, and that he’ll be around Faith
again, and other women.”

“Let’s stay updated on his progress and make
decisions based on that. Whatever happens, it needs to be in the
best interest of the company, regardless of how Faith feels.”

“Alright.” Gavin stood and left for his own
office.

Over the next few months, Gavin and Faith
grew closer to each other than either of them had expected.
However, his frustration with her was becoming an issue. She still
wouldn’t allow their passion and desire for each other to
completely unfold. Her resistance to his advances was growing old,
and his aggravation was beginning to show.

One Friday afternoon, Gavin asked Faith to
join him for an early dinner. She agreed and got to his house
shortly after him. Crazed from craving and desiring the woman he
loved, he practically attacked her in the living room, pulling her
close to him. He kissed her deeply on the lips, ready to rip her
clothes off.

Drawing away slightly, she said, “I thought
we were having an early dinner.”

Gavin was now kissing her lightly on the
neck, and had placed his hands underneath her shirt.

“I thought we could have dessert first,” he
said without looking at her. He simply kept kissing her. His own
shirt was gaping open, and Faith couldn’t help but touch the soft,
smooth skin on his chest. Gavin quivered from her touch.

Gently laying her down on the pillows that
were arranged on the floor, he wasted no time removing her shirt,
exposing her supple skin underneath. He showered her shoulders and
stomach with kisses, alternating them with tender licks of
seduction, sending intense pleasure through Faith’s body. She tried
to control her longing for more, but was unsuccessful, as she
allowed him to unbutton, unzip, and pull down her pants and
underwear. Her anticipation elevated as he slowly began to kiss and
lick her womanhood, increasing her moistness. Gavin began to throb,
yearning to be inside her. Unable to take it anymore, he unzipped
his own pants and was preparing to penetrate when Faith stopped
him.